West Texas A&M University

Courses

Honors format courses are offered each semester on a rotating basis. Attebury Honors students are required to take 6-9 hours from the core courses listed below in order to graduate as an Attebury Honors Scholar. However, students are encouraged to take as many honors format courses as will work into their schedule. Honors format classes are generally limited to 15 honors students. Sample course syllabi can be accessed by clicking on the course name below.

Attebury Honors Seminars

Honors seminars, listed in the University catalog as HNRS 2373 are unique courses taught by honors faculty from a variety of disciplines. The topics differ each semester. Courses are limited to 15 students and often include trips, guest lecturers and other experiential learning activities.

Fall 2013

HNRS 2373.01 - Outdoor Education- Warning...the content and skills in this course will serve you from now to the end of your days! Students will focus on applications for all facets of life - finding your way and back outdoors, traveling over all types of terrain, locating and purifying water, feeding yourself with edible plants, building shelters, building a fire under any condition, and more. You will leave the course a confident and skilled leader who would have a cake walk on "Survivor."

HNRS 2373.02 -Decision-making and Crisis Management during the Truman Presidency - will explore the broader context out of which the seemingly unending series of crises emerged during the Truman Presidency. Course will include a 3 day adventure to the Truman Presidential Library and Museum where students will have the opportunity to participate in role-playing exercises designed to replicate the decision processes behind some of Truman's most important (and controversial) decisions. Don't just study history - Live It! ($75 course fee)

Spring 2014

HNRS 2373.01 -From Tropical Storms to Tropical Beaches: this and more on the Texas Gulf Coast - The course will begin with a campus study of the history of Galveston beginning with explorers through the Civil war and 1900 hurricane. The historical perspective will be reinforced by tours of the city's architecture and focus on the devastation of major hurricanes, impact on society, and economics as well as the efforts to protect sensitive ecosystems from future devastation. Course will include a week long adventure to the Texas Gulf Coast. ($395 course fee)

HNRS 2373.02 - Great Books - In this class we will read and discuss several great books that revolve around a central theme. The theme this semester , defined in a broad way, is war and peace. The books selected (usually 7 or 8) will cover a wide range of genres and eras. Class participation is essential. Students will write papers and keep a journal, but there are no examinations.

Fall 2014

HNRS 2373.01 - Time Turners, Tonks and Transfiguration:History and Culture in Harry Potter - This course will investigate the Wizarding World by studying the J.K. Rowling book series, the Warner Brother’s Films, Pottermore and Universal Studios theme park.Guest speakers will address issues of race, class, and religion in Harry Potter.We hope to bring John Granger, the “Harry Potter Professor” and Dr. Chris Bell, Chair of the Harry Potter Studies Division of the SWTX Popular Culture Association to campus.Course fees will include travel to Orlando, Florida for an inside look at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.Students will have the opportunity to write research papers for submission to the SWTXPCA 2015 conference. ($500 course fee)

HNRS 2373.02 -Organizational Communication: Exploring Social Identity - This course is designed to explore organizational communication through the lens of the construction of social identity. The course will address organizational concepts such as leadership, decision making, and conflict management while focusing on the impact of social identities in communication. Age, gender, race, class, & other such social identities influence both direct and indirect communication potentially resulting in substantial miscommunication & conflict. Students will consider how organizational leaders and decision makers navigate perceptions informed by the experience of individual social identity constructions. Students will critically evaluate real world narratives & experiences, focusing primarily on means for adapting communication to varied organizational circumstances.

Spring 2015

HNRS 2373.01 - Seminar: History and Culture of Irelandtaught by Dr. Bonnie Roos